Best Air Fryer Vegetables

These air fryer veggies are the best healthy side dish. You only need fresh vegetables, a little oil, and a few seasonings. This is the easy way to create tender but perfectly charred vegetables!

Update: This recipe was originally published in 2023 and has been republished with all new photos.

The air fryer is currently my most used kitchen gadget. It’s really one of my very favorite things.

I’m going to show you how to quickly cook fresh vegetables in the air fryer with simple ingredients. I truly believe the air fryer is the best way to make tender veggies in minimal time with less oil. My family loves this recipe on busy weeknights and I’m sure yours will too.

Craving more air fryer recipes? My Air Fryer Salmon has a mild flavor and cooks with very little oil. I bet you’ll also love my Air Fryer Chicken Breast recipe. I make them for meal prep almost every single week! I also make Air Fryer Zucchini regularly for meal prep. It’s a hit for any veggie lover!

Air Fryer Vegetables Ingredients

• Zucchini: Summer is zucchini season but you can find zucchini in your grocery store any time of year. Choose medium zucchini with shiny green skin. Very large zucchini tend to have less flavor and small zucchini will taste great but you’ll need more of them.
• Bell pepper: Bell peppers come in several colors and you can use whichever you prefer. I recommend a red bell pepper for this easy side dish because it has a hint of sweetness and the color is beautiful with the other veggies.
• Onion: Red onion adds a nice bite to these mixed vegetables and its purple color is so vibrant in the finished dish. You can use a white or yellow onion if you prefer.
• Sliced mushrooms: I like sliced baby portabello mushrooms but any sliced mushrooms will work well.
• Olive oil: A little bit of oil helps us get the vegetables tender. I recommend extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil but you can use any oil you’re comfortable cooking with. A cooking spray is also a great solution and what I use most often.
• Seasonings: Dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper are the only seasonings you need to flavor this easy air fryer vegetables recipe.

How to Make Air Fryer Vegetables

Add the zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms to a large mixing bowl. Add olive or avocado oil (or generously spray with oil spray) and seasonings. Stir so the vegetables are coated. Spread the vegetables in a single layer as much as you can for even cooking. Add the seasoned vegetables to the preheated air fryer. Cook for 10 minutes. Stir or shake. This is especially important if using a basket-style air fryer so the veggies in the bottom of the air fryer basket won’t be underdone. Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

When you’re done you’ll have tender vegetables that make the perfect side dish! Enjoy as is or switch things up by topping with parmesan cheese, feta cheese, italian seasoning, or fresh herbs.

Can You Use Different Veggies?

Cooking vegetables in the air fryer is always a great idea! The trick is to make sure you’re air frying veggies that will cook in the same amount of time. Green beans, yellow squash, butternut squash, and broccoli florets will all work in this recipe. Be sure to slice the veggies so they’re similar in size.

Should You Preheat Your Air Fryer?

A preheated air fryer will help your food cook faster so absolutely preheat the air fryer whenever possible. Even just a couple of minutes can help! But know that if you forget it will still work out. You might just require a few extra minutes of cooking at the end.

How to Avoid Uneven Cooking in the Air Fryer

To avoid uneven cooking we want to understand the cooking process of the air fryer. It cooks our food by circulating hot air. We want all the ingredients to benefit from this circulation so we don’t want to pile our food on top of each other.

The cooking time for any air fryer recipe can vary depending on the size of your air fryer. A larger air fryer means you have the space to spread your ingredients in a single layer which is important for the best results.

But don’t worry! You can use a smaller air fryer too if you’re careful to not cook too much at one time. It’s better to make separate batches of a recipe versus trying to cram everything in at once and piling ingredients on top of each other. Second, when you shake the basket make sure the food at the bottom of the basket makes it’s way to the top.

What Air Fryer is Recommended

There are so many options out there and you do not need a pricey air fryer to make yummy food. When I first start using an air fryer I purchased a  Bosh Compact Air Fryer and it was under $40. The price tag appealed to me because at the time I wasn’t sure how often I’d use it! Needless to say, we use it all the time!

Since then I’ve moved to this Cuisinart Convection Air Fryer which is also a toaster oven. It’s big enough to cook a lot of food at once! Plus it looks nice and I keep it on the counter (I mentioned that I use it everyday so there’s no point in storing it elsewhere). It comes in white, silver, and black. I have it in white and my sister has it in silver.

This GoWise 7 Quart Air Fryer is my favorite basket style option. It holds a lot of food and is reasonably priced for an air fryer of this size. Since your food cooks in a fairly deep basket you’ll want to be sure to stir or shake the ingredients about halfway through cooking.

Can You Roast these Veggies in the Oven Instead?

Yes! Toss the vegetables in oil and seasonings. Spread all the ingredients in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake at 425 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Stir halfway through cooking time.

Tips for Perfect Air Fryer Vegetables

• Don’t overcrowd your veggies. For even cooking you want your vegetables spread in as close to an even layer as possible. If they’re all piled on top of each other then you’ll notice that the vegetables on top will cook much faster than those on the bottom. For this reason you want to be sure you’re using a large enough air fryer to accommodate everything.
• Don’t skip the oil. You don’t need much oil when using the air fryer but you do need some! A bit of olive or avocado oil works great. I usually just use an avocado oil spray.
• Stir or shake the vegetables halfway through your cooking time. Moving the veggies around like this helps them cook more evenly.
• Cook vegetables that are cut the same size. If you chop one vegetable smaller than the others it will cook faster and may burn so try to cut them close to the same size.

How to Store Air Fryer Vegetables

Store these vegetables in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

You can also freeze them if you prefer. Freeze in an airtight freezer safe container (like freezer bags). Then thaw and reheat in a skillet on the stovetop or in the microwave.

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